Tamil Nadu fishermen – murder on the high seas

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Twenty four hours after finalising her alliance with the Left AIADMK Chief Jayalalitha was seen touring Nagapattinam in coastal Tamil Nadu. She was visiting one of the two fishermen killed in recent times for allegedly entering Sri Lankan waters. Sceptics might call it a political stunt designed to woo the coastal fishermen constituency. However those truly concerned with the increasing number of Indian citizens killed by the Sri Lankan navy for the meagre crime of casting a net can afford to welcome her intervention. The ruling DMK has as usual been quick to unleash empty rhetoric in the hope of assauging Tamil sentiment with the usual verve and vigour. With the never ending accusations of corruption against the DMK leadership political capital, it appears, is expended more on salvaging alliances to keep the government propped up than to address the crisis in coastal Tamil Nadu.

The shooting of Tamil Nadu fishermen has been a recurring misfortune for years together. Earlier the killings were explained away as justifiable actions on the SL Navy’s part due to the LTTE threat causing legitimate security concerns. With the rebel Tigers now an extinct species even that inexcusable defence has been rendered void. It is true that many Indian fishermen may accidentally or otherwise navigate into the Sri Lankan waters. Allegations of bottom trawling, an activity that apparently damages marine ecology of the waters has also been made. Whatever the case is there cannot be any justification for the reckless mid-sea murder of Indian citizens. The killings have to stop – the governments have to immediately look into putting in place modalities that would prevent further causalities.

It is to the credit of unrelenting Tamil blogsphere and Twitterati backed by grass groots activism by some organisations that the issue has for the first time survived the scissors of news-cycle management in Delhi. The plight of Tamil fisherman was until recently given less than adequate, some say negligble, coverage. In the duty of directing the nation’s attention towards the recurring brutal murders it can be safely said that most establishments were most certainly callous and delinquent.

However there are two unwarranted perspectives I have been unfortunate enough to hear on this issue. The first concerns a tendency amongst the informed sections to quickly conclude that the wanton killings are an attempt at one-manupship by the SL Navy, a cock a snook, if you will, at the Indian Navy/Coast Guard and more generally against the State itself. While it is true that the SL Navy has been emboldened by the pusslianimous responses for previous killings it is important to realise that the SL Navy was also recipient of critical assistance from India during the decisive years of the civil war. Unlike the forces at Indo-Bangladesh border both the navies enjoy a good if not excellent relationship . The killings, despite the frustrating regularity with which they happen are acts of ill-disciplined SL Navy personnel – something India must convey in no uncertain terms will not tolerated anymore. The crisis must been viewed within its context.

Secondly, I should like to mention that the Tamil nationalist attempt to hijack this crisis into an issue of ethnic conflict is not only distasteful but also ridiculous. The constituency that is hurt most by Indian fishermen fishing in Sri Lankan waters (if at all) or damaging the fragile marine ecology is the ethnic Tamil minority of Northern Sri Lanka. People of this constituency suffered greatly during the civil war that lasted more than two decades. Peace, at the cost of defeat some would say, is returning to these battered communities and to make the most out of it they would need a steady income. If the fisherman of Tamil Nadu was indeed poaching into SL waters or indulging in bottom trawling, as allegations go, then it is the food of his brother across the narrow sea he steals. By ensuring fishing in the region is practised under fair terms for all involved we are helping the Tamil across the sea put a little more food in his child’s plate. Thus it is the quick and peaceful resolution of crisis that must be sought, not the nauseating chest-beating caused by meaningless ethnic fetish. There is no denying that Fishing communities on both the sides of the sea share an interest in preserving the marine ecology, and that drives the demand for an urgent need to facilitate interactions between these communities to avoid further conflicts.

If I may also say something on the increased political attention to the crisis: any attention, minus the rabble rousing of the ethnic chauvinist brigade, is welcome. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Mrs.Sushma Swaraj shall be visiting aggrieved families in Nagapattinam on 4th February 2011. The BJP has further escalated the issue by promising to raise the issue in the Parliament. Mrs.Swaraj’s tweets have prompted a crisis management of sorts by by External Affairs Minister that got him to has visit the Leader of Opposition to make his promises. Many such promises have been made before and yet the ground situation has hardly ever changed.

Sadly one cannot help but get the impression that the killings will continue until the external affairs ministry and Tamil Nadu political leadership are willing to look at the issue as a looming danger to the livelihood of large number of fishing communities and not as a recurring PR disaster that needs to be swept under the carpet. Obligatory lip service constituted by condemnations and feeble protests may no longer enough.

Amar

Amar Govindarajan is a management professional based out of somewhere in South India. He spends his spare time in bird-watching, dog keeping and reading Popular science. He is also a member of the CRI Editorial team.

Excellent article. I think this will bring the issue to light even further.

Firstly, Everyone knows it’s an ethnic and not a sovereignty issue. Anyone who disagrees with that is just ignoring the elephant in the room or just doing some wishful thinking. So though the point about “..Tamil nationalist attempt to hijack this crisis into an issue of ethnic..” though uncomfortable becomes necessary. But I do agree the tweeps do a bad job. Instead of trying to show the Lankan vs Tamilian divide they are distorting it into a Tamil vs Rest of India divide or a Dravidian vs Aryan divide, all the time trying to coerce people into action by passive aggression – to use the words of tweep “guilt manipulation”.

Secondly I take strong exception to the words “the food of his brother across the narrow sea he steals”. Kachatheevu was an integral part of India. But that’s an entirely different story. We have a mutual fishing and sharing agreement in those waters with SL, which was temporarily scrapped in 2008 to combat the LTTE. So if those sleeping officials could restore the agreement to pre-2008 terms (which should have been done one year ago when the LTTE was defeated) the SL navy has no grounds to fire at innocent Tamil (not Indian) fishermen.

Thirdly, I am not a separatist and thank you for blogging about this issue

Santhana Lakshmanan

This is a pretty useful (maybe the only) stick-and-carrot approach to prod New Delhi into action. It’s been a long time. They are tired of all this Realpolitik. The Tamizh tweeps are left with no option but to play the ethnic card as the centre is (in)famous for it’s Pavlovian responses to divisive politics.

And yes. New Delhi must take the sovereignty card when dealing with Sri Lanka. finally, at the risk of sounding banal, the fishermen din’t steal anything from anyone.

Dear Santhana Lakshmanan, thanks for your kind words. Allow me to disagree on the question how this issue must be seen. New Delhi cannot solve the issue if it is seen through the prism of Tamil – Sinhalese relations. Must be raised & condemned as an indisciplined navy violating our borders/citizens rights.

On the fishing agreement – yes, yours is a perfectly valid point on mutual fishing agreements.

1) It is not hijacked by any particular group. It is twitter and views are extremely opinionated. And at times, ethinic chauvinist views can also be right.

2) I don’t understand the need to differentiate between SL Navy Personnel and SL Navy. If it is not systematic, this would not have continued for 25 years. Till now, the stress is given only on the killings but not the sufferings fisherman has to endure day to day in the hands of SL Navy. And so, the excellent friendship that you have portrayed between indian and sl navy needs to be revisited.

Every politician do visit the aggrieved families and spins their version of the story. And we don’t mind it as long as the latest offence is punished in a right way.

And we really hope that sushma swaraj can bring this up in parliament along with maithreyan and exert enough pressure on Hitler like regime of Rajapakse.

http://centreright.in Amar

Hi Manikandan, I don’t say the twitterati/blogsphere has hijacked the issue into an ethnic issue – I’m pointing to the direction of some well known Tamil nationalists in TN political sphere…

Thanks!

http://twitter.com/cbcnn_Pilid Pilid Lao

Any idea if this is the first time the JWG is being constituted or has it been done before?

http://centreright.in Amar

I believe the JWG was constituted long time ago but has been dormant ever
since. Foreign Secretary says she will have it reactivated- it will meet on
15th of Feb